Marking projectile and method of use



Feb. 25, 1969 J. B. SNYDER ETAL MARKING PROJECTILE AND METHOD OF USE Filed April 17, 1967 Sheet of 5 JAMES B. SNYDER JOHN D. LONT GEORGE M. LONT INVENTORS.

BY I l/ Feb. 25, 1969 J- B. SNYDER ETAL 3,429,263

' I MARKING PROJECTILE AND METHOD OF USE I v Filed April 17, 1967 x I Sheet 2 of 5 FIG-5 l3 INVENTORS JAMES B. SNYDER JOHN D. LONT BY GEORGE M. LO T 1969 .J. B. SNYDER ETAL 3, 9, 3

MARKING PROJECTILE AND METHOD OF USE Filed April 17, 1967 Sheet 5 of 5 JAMES B. SNYDER N 0. L0 RGE M. L T

INVENTORS United States Patent F 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A marking projectile adapted to be projected along a trajectory to impact upon a surface at a predetermined location and constructed and arranged to discharge and deposit a marking agent contained therein over an area greater than would normally occur; and the method of projecting said projectile by means of a conventional firearm and applicable to the functions of surveying.

This invention relates to the field of marking from a remote distance or distinguishing with a mark from a relatively great distance away.

There are many occasions in which a capability to mark or apply a distinguishing pigment from a remote distance can very effectively be used at a great savings in time and money. For example, officers of the law can profit in being able to mark a fleeing automobile with an agent very difficult to remove and/or luminous in the dark during pursuit of suspects who are endeavoring to escape arrest.

Military personnel would benefit from marking various boundaries from the air to be followed from visual contact from the air or upon foot or by the use of land vehicles. Limits of safe routes and danger areas may be distinguished from a remote vantage point, when the capability of marking at a distance from ones position is available.

The ability to mark from a distance, inaccessible or difficult of access stations during surveying procedures, greatly speeds this work and saves much time and expenditure of money.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a method and means for applying a distinguishing mark to a surface from a point remote from the said surface to be marked.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a method for surveying by triangulation wherein two readily accessible stations on a base leg may be utilized together with an unoccupied station in a difiicult or inaccessible area by marking the unoccupied station from a point remote therefrom by means of a marking projectile capable of being projected over a relatively great distance.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of a marking projectile having an impact dehiscent pigment dispersing body capable of being projected over relatively great distances with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Yet another object of the invention lies in the provision of a marking projectile having a pigment containing cavity closed by an impact plug and designed to effect discharge of the pigment upon impact of the projectile upon a surface to be marked.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a marking projectile having a pigment containing body with designed weak areas which will deform, splinter or change to discharge the pigment upon impacting upon a surface.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a marking projectile having a pigment containing body with designed weak areas at the forward end adapted to rupture or deform to discharge a pigment; which discharge is "ice enhanced by a free piston, having a high specific gravity which tends to resist deceleration, disposed in the body behind the pigment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plug as a closure for said next-above-defined marking projectile, which plug is constructed and arranged to seal the pigment within the body and upon impact is effective to facilitate discharge of said pigment and coincidentall disperse the discharging pigment over a relatively large area of the surface upon which the projectile impacted.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims the term pigment is used in a broad sense to include any material capable of being distinguished from its surroundings. For example, and not limitation, although colors are principally considered, the differentiation may be in texture or luminosity, both of which may be distinguished by the human eye; but, also, radioactive substances may be employed in several instances and need not be distinguishable by the human eye but by other means. It is thus intended that where the term pigmen or a form thereof is employed in this document it is not to be considered as restricted to color but also comprehends within its scope any material capable of being distinguished from its surroundings.

It is also intended that the accompanying drawings shall be considered as exemplifying and in no way are they intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention; which is to be measured and understood in the particulars as set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, like numerals are employed to distinguish the same or similar parts and features throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the method of using the marking projectile;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of one species of marking projectile associated with a conventional cartridge;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of the projectile;

FIGURE 4 is a view partially in vertical longitudinal section of the projectile at the moment of impact;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of a modified species of the marking projectile;

FIGURE 6 is the projectile of FIGURE 5 at impact;

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal vertical section of a further modified species of marking projectile;

FIGURE 8 is the projectile of FIGURE 7 at impact;

FIGURE 9 is a longitudinal vertical section of another species of projectile; and

FIGURE 10 is the projectile of FIGURE 9 at impact.

Heretofore, when a surveyor has been required to make a cross section of an area, as for example to provide cutand-fill data in highway design in adverse territory, including a rock cliff; it has been necessary to lower a workman in a boatswains chair or otherwise enable him to descend from the brink or climb from below to paint a fixed point to serve as an unoccupied station during triangulation procedures which are now well known to those skilled in the art of surveying.

By utilizing our present method and means, the expenditure of time and money to apply an unoccupied station to the face of a cliff is virtually eliminated. In the practice of our present invention, one need only approach near enough to a cliff face to enable him to shoot a marking projectile within a general area desired to be marked on the cliff face and thus produce a visible mark well adapted to serve this function. To this end, we provide a conventional cartridge 10 which includes the now well known case, cap and charge in any one of the many forms, to fit a conventional firearm such as rifle 11.

The cliff 12 shown in the drawing is seen to have a vertical or substantially vertical surface or face 13 above a steeply inclined base 14 defined at the bottom by a river 15. Similar topography is quite frequently encountered in the western United States and is one example of a difficult surface to mark. However, utilizing the herein disclosed invention renders it very convenient for one to apply one or more marks 16 to the face 13 as may be required or desired.

A measured base leg, indicated by the dot and dash line identified by the numeral 17, has stations 18 and 19, one at each end. From these stations horizontal and vertical angles are turned from a horizontal plane coincident to a transit (not shown) and a vertical plane coincident to the base leg 17, to the mark 16 selected on the cliff face 13. Knowing the length of the base leg between the stations 18 and 19, and the angles to the mark 16, one solves the triangle dimensions and the position of the unoccupied station from the known positions of the occupied stations. Its height is also calculated by the vertical angle from horizontal determined from one station 18 or 19.

The marking projectile is indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 20 and modified species thereof by numerals 21, 22 and 23 (FIGURES and 6, 7 and 8, and 9 and The basic components of the marking projectile, common to all the species are a body 25 which may be of any desired configuration but preferably is elongated axially of its trajectory to facilitate its ability to maintain an attitude axially constant with its trajectory when it is pro jected by an external force, for example, cartridge 10. While it is not absolutely necessary, nor even desirable under some conditions, such as at very close ranges, we prefer to use a rifle to impart an axial spin to the projectile -23 and thus further enhance its ability to remain axially parallel to its trajectory.

This axial alignment with its trajectory is desired of the projectile because within the body is an axially elongated cavity 26 or 26 having an opening or aperture at its forward end 28. In the species shown in FIGURES 5 and 8 the cavity 26 tapers toward the rearward end. The bore or cavity 26 of the species shown in FIGURE 9 is cylindrical.

The bore or cavity 26 or 26' serves as a reservoir for the storage of pigment 27 which is introduced therein through the apertured forward end 28 and is sealed therein by means of a plug 30, 31 or 32.

Externally, the projectiles 2023 are aerodynamically contoured and this shape together with the internal walls of the cavity 26 or 26 define a somewhat tubular wall 34 which is closed at its rear end by a wall 33. At its forward end the projectile is reduced at 29 externally to design a weaker portion area 35 yieldable to increased internal pressure effective upon impact and which is coextensive with the reduced outer configuration. The balance of the wall 34 and the thickened rear wall '33 are relatively more resistant to deformation than the portion 35, which, upon being subject to internal pressures by the pigment 27, will tend to first expand, rupture, splinter or deform and release the pigment, as is hereinafter more fully described and explained.

The plug 30 has a hemispherical point 36 and a tapered skirt 37 as does plug 32. The difference between the two plugs 36 and 32 is that plug 32 also has axially parallel circumferentially spaced grooves 38, While plug 30 has a smooth peripheral skirt 37. The cavity 26 or 26' is sealed by crimping the front feather edge portion at 28 to the plugs 30 and 32. In the case of the plug 32, this is forwardly beyond the forward terminus of the grooves 38.

In this disclosure, the pigment 27 will be described, though not limited, to colored liquid capable of being distinguished from the surface 13, or in other words, paintlike. As is the case with water, the pigment is substantially non-compressible. A degree of compressibility can be tolerated, but this may not be so pronounced as to permit telescopic movement of the plug into the cavity 26 without creating an internal pressure sufiicient to burst the body 25 and effect the resultant discharge of the pigment 27. In this disclosure we employ the term non-compressible in the sense that relative movement of the plug into the cavity 26 upon impact, together with its own mechanically induced expansive pressures and the compression pressures upon the pigment will effect sufiicient internal pressure to burst the body 25 first at the weaker portion 35 of the wall 34 and discharge the pigment 27 around the plug 30, 31, or 32 as the case may be.

It will be readily appreciated that the spherical plug 31 works in the same way as the other plugs. Also, it is emphasized that the plugs 3032 are shown with a portion extending forwardly from the body 25 so that upon initial contact the body and plug develop a relative movement which drives the plug rearwardly in the cavity to result in the above-defined pressurization of the pigment 27 and rupture, expansion, splintering or deformation of the body 25. Since the pigment must escape about the periphery of the plugs 3032, they act as accelerators for dispersing the pigment over a greater area than would normally be the case. If desired, the taper of a plug may be conical instead of frustoconical as shown.

Since the thickness of the reduced wall portions 35 are substantially co-equal, the expansion, splintering, rupturing or deformation is substantially circumferentially equal to result in the desired distribution of the pigment 27 on the surface 13 to provide a mark which is discernable from a good distance.

In the species shown in FIGURES 9 and 10 particularly, the cavity 26 is defined by a cylindrical wall and the body is formed from a relatively inexpensive and lightweight material such as one of the well-known plastics.

A lead or other high specific gravity ball 24-, which is movable in the cavity 26' but is in very close tolerance therewith so as to fit snugly enough so that it will not move longitudinally thereof during normal handling. This ball serves as an acceleration resistant piston disposed adjacent to the wall 33 behind the pigment 27. Upon impact, the ball or piston 24 resists deceleration to a greater degree than the lightweight body 25 and facilitates discharge of the pigment 27.

The body 25 may expand slightly which will permit a small amount of the pigment to pass the piston 24, as indicated at aa of FIGURE 10, but the quantity is not sufficient to adversely affect the marking capabilities of the projectile.

As shown the body 25 most likely fractures behind the forwardly moving piston 24 to admit atmospheric air and thus destroy the vacuum which forms therein.

Having thus described our invention, we desire to secure by Letters Patents of the United States the following:

1. A marking projectile, comprising:

a body adapted to be projected by an external force along a trajectory in an attitude axially constant with said trajectory to impact upon a selected surface;

said body having a cavity apertured forwardly thereof;

a plug impervious to pigment closing the apertures of said cavity;

said plug having the approximate cross-sectional size and shape of said cavity so as to telescope into the cavity of said body upon impact of the projectile;

a non-compressible pigment in said cavity; and

said body having means to cause a dehiscence of said body from increased internal pressure of said pigment effected upon impact of said projectile and the consequential telescopic movement of said plug into said body.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and further characterized by:

said plug extending forwardly from said body, whereby upon impact relative telescopic movement of said plug into said cavity effects bursting of said body and discharge of said pigment.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 and further characterized by:

said body having a substantially tubular wall closed at one end by a rear end wall and defining said cavity;'

and selected forward terminal portions of said tubular wall being reduced in thickness with respect to the remaining wall portions, whereby the impaction compression pressures exerted upon the pigment by the telescopic movement of said plug and the inertia of said pigment cause the body to expand at the reduced wall portions and discharge said pigment forwardly. 4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 and further characterized by:

said reduced wall portions being circumferentially coequal, whereby the said expansion is substantially equal circumferentially of said plug and said plug effects outward acceleration of said pigment to increase the area of dispersal of said pigment on an impact surface. 5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 and further characterized by:

said plug being spherical in external configuration. 6. The invention in accordance with claim 4 and further characterized by:

said plug having a skirt portion constructed and arranged to mate with the inner surface of said tubular wall at its forward end; axially parallel grooves in said skirt, terminating inwardly of the forward end of said body; and the forward marginal edge portion of said tubular wall being sealingly crimped to said plug.

7. The invention according to claim 1 and further characterized by:

a piston disposed opposed to said plug and in said cavity in close tolerance therewith for expressing said pigment on impact during forward movement relative to said body; and

said piston being formed of an acceleration resistant material of relatively high specific gravity.

8. The invention according to claim 2 and further characterized by:

a piston formed of an acceleration resistant material of relatively high specific gravity disposed opposed to said plug and in said cavity in close tolerance therewith for expressing said pigment during forward movement relative to said body on impact.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 288,321 11/1883 Farley 3365 1,671,364 5/1928 Gangnes 102-1 2,923,243 2/1960 Crockford et a1. 10292 3,037,454 6/1962 Young 102F318 3,130,495 4/ 1964 Schulte 331 3,209,696 10/1965 Palmer et al 102-92 ROBERT F. STAHL, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

